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Laboratory Operations

Principles

You might be looking at this topic and thinking, “I’m here to be a scientist, not a teacher. Why is this part of my core curriculum?” That’s a fair question, and the answer is one of the best-kept secrets of our profession: every Medical Laboratory Scientist is an educator. It’s a fundamental, non-negotiable part of the job, even if it never appears in the official job title

Think about it. The moment you are no longer the newest person in the lab, you will be teaching—training a new employee, mentoring a student, explaining a complex procedure to a colleague. You will educate nurses on the proper way to collect a specimen for a tricky test. You’ll explain the significance of a result to a resident physician. You’ll even be responsible for formally evaluating the skills of your peers through competency assessments. To do all of this effectively, safely, and professionally, you need a basic understanding of how people learn. That is the entire point of this section. It’s not about classroom theory; it’s about giving you the practical tools to be an effective trainer, mentor, and communicator

Three Domains of Learning: The Head, the Hands, and the Heart

All learning can be broken down into three fundamental categories, or domains. A complete training plan must address all three to be successful. In the lab, we see them every day

  • Cognitive Domain (The Head): This is all about knowledge, intellect, and thinking. It’s the “why” behind what we do. It involves everything from simple recall of facts to complex problem-solving and evaluation
    • Lab Example: Simply memorizing that the “1_3s” Westgard rule is a rejection rule is low-level cognitive learning. Understanding why it signifies an unacceptable level of random error and being able to troubleshoot the potential causes is high-level cognitive learning
  • Psychomotor Domain (The Hands): This domain is all about action. It involves the physical skills, manual dexterity, and muscle memory required to perform a task. It’s the “how” of what we do
    • Lab Example: You can read a book about making a perfect blood smear (cognitive), but you cannot be proficient until you have physically practiced holding the slides at the right angle, applying the right amount of pressure, and moving with the right speed to create a beautiful smear with a feathered edge (psychomotor)
  • Affective Domain (The Heart): This is the most overlooked but often most critical domain. It deals with attitudes, values, beliefs, and professional behaviors. It’s the “care” in what we do
    • Lab Example: You can know why to practice Standard Precautions (cognitive) and know how to properly don and doff PPE (psychomotor). But it is the affective domain that ensures you actually believe in its importance and practice it consistently, even when you think no one is watching

Planning for Success: Writing Learning Objectives

Effective teaching is never random. It always starts with a clear goal. A Learning Objective is a specific, measurable statement that describes what the learner will be able to do after the instruction is complete. Think of it as a contract: “I will teach you this, and by the end, you will be able to do that.”

Good objectives are a roadmap for both the teacher and the learner. We often use Bloom’s Taxonomy as a framework to write them. Bloom’s is essentially a ladder of learning, with simple tasks at the bottom and more complex tasks at the top. For instance, in the cognitive domain, the levels are Remember -> Understand -> Apply -> Analyze -> Evaluate -> Create

Compare a weak objective to a strong one:

  • Weak: “The student will learn about pipetting.” (How will I know when they’ve learned it? What does “learn” mean?)
  • Strong: “Given a P1000 micropipettor and a bottle of deionized water, the student will demonstrate the ability to accurately and precisely pipette 500 microliters into a microcentrifuge tube three consecutive times with a coefficient of variation less than 2%.” (This is specific, measurable, action-oriented, and time-bound. We know exactly what success looks like.)

The Feedback Loop: Formative and Summative Evaluation

How do we know if our teaching worked? We evaluate. This isn’t just about giving a final exam; it’s an ongoing process

  • Formative Evaluation: This is the “check-in” along the way. It’s informal, frequent, and its goal is to provide feedback and guide the learning process
    • Lab Example: While training a new employee on the hematology analyzer, you might ask, “Okay, show me how you would load a STAT sample,” or “What does that ‘delta flag’ mean?” You’re not giving a grade; you’re forming their understanding in real time
  • Summative Evaluation: This is the “final exam.” It is a formal assessment that occurs at the end of an instructional unit and measures whether the learner has achieved the objectives
    • Lab Example: The annual Competency Assessment is a perfect example of summative evaluation. It is a formal, documented checklist to prove that an employee has mastered the cognitive, psychomotor, and affective skills required to perform a specific test for the next year

Understanding these basic principles transforms you from a simple coworker into a valuable resource. It empowers you to train your future colleagues effectively, contribute meaningfully to the quality of your laboratory, and take control of your own lifelong learning journey

Key Terms

  • Learning Domains: The three categories of learning: Cognitive (knowledge/intellect), Psychomotor (physical skills), and Affective (attitudes/values)
  • Learning Objective: A specific, measurable statement describing what a learner will be able to do upon completion of instruction. It provides a clear target for both the teacher and the learner
  • Bloom’s Taxonomy: A hierarchical model used to classify learning objectives based on their level of complexity, from simple recall to complex evaluation and creation
  • Formative Evaluation: Informal, ongoing assessment during the learning process designed to provide feedback and guide instruction (e.g., asking questions during a training session)
  • Summative Evaluation: Formal assessment at the conclusion of an instructional period used to measure the final achievement of learning objectives (e.g., a final exam or an annual competency assessment)
  • Competency Assessment: A mandated, summative evaluation process in the clinical lab to formally document that an employee has the knowledge and skill to perform a specific test accurately
  • Andragogy: The methods and principles used in adult education. It recognizes that adults learn best when the topic is relevant, problem-centered, and builds on their past experiences